Dr. Vera Zamoscik
Scientific Staff Member
University of Mannheim
School of Social Sciences
L 13, 15–17 – Room 201
68161 Mannheim
School of Social Sciences
L 13, 15–17 – Room 201
68161 Mannheim
Consultation hour(s):
by appointment
by appointment
Research Interests
- Respiration pattern variability (e.g. in anxiety and stress) and breathing training
- emergency psychology
- psychosocial emergency care, e.g. with regard to emergency services (e.g. training, prevention, aftercare, protection and risk factors, influence of operational experience e.g. the 2021 flood disaster)
- sensory perception and its relation to mental health (including e.g. autism, acute stress reaction and PTSD)
Academic and Professional Career
Beruflicher Werdegang
since 12/ 22 Academic employee at the Chair of Clinical and Biological Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Mannheim 2020 – 2023 Research assistant (from 12/ 22 visiting scientist) as project manager in our own DFG project to evaluate a breathing-centered intervention program in the clinical psychology department at the Central Institute for Mental Health, Mannheim 2019 – 2020 Research assistant in the EU project on the influence of genetic markers on the tryptophan system and social cognition in the Department of Differential and Biological Psychology and the Center for Economics & Neuroscience (CENs) at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn 2016 – 2019 Research assistant in an EU project on the influence of a diet rich in tryptophan on social cognition in the clinical psychology department at the Central Institute for Mental Health, Mannheim 2010 – 2016 Research assistant in a project on rumination and mindfulness in the clinical psychology department at the Central Institute for Mental Health, Mannheim Akademischer Werdegang
2018 Doctorate at the Mannheim Medical Faculty of the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg with the title: ‘Back to the roots: the role of sensory sensitivity and respiration pattern variability in mental health’ 2007–2010 Studied psychology at University of Mannheim; Bachelor of Science in Psychology 2005 Stay abroad in Central America, Universidad de Costa Rica, DAAD scholarship 2001–2007 Studied Biology at University of Ulm; Diploma in Biologie bis 2001 Abitur and FSJ in Augsburg Publications and Conference Contributions
2023
- Kuehner, C., Schricker, I. F., Nayman, S., Reinhard, I., Zamoscik, V., Kirsch, P. and Huffziger, S. (2023). Effects of rumination and mindful self-focus inductions during daily life in patients with remitted depression – an experimental ambulatory assessment study. Behavior Therapy, 1–33.
- Zhang, J., Zamoscik, V., Kirsch, P. and Fungisai Gerchen, M. (2023). No evidence from a negative mood induction fMRI task for frontal functional asymmetry as a suitable neurofeedback target. Scientific Reports, 13, 114.
2021
- Reuter, M., Zamoscik, V., Plieger, T., Bravo, R., Ugartemendia, L., Rodriguez, A. B. and Kirsch, P. (2021). Tryptophan-rich diet is negatively associated with depression and positively linked to social cognition. Nutrition Research, 85, 14–20.
- Ugartemendia, L., Bravo, R., Reuter, M., Castaño, M. Y., Plieger, T., Zamoscik, V., Kirsch, P. and Rodriguez, A. B. (2021). SLC6A4 polymorphisms modulate the efficacy of a tryptophan-enriched diet on age-related depression and social cognition. Clinical Nutrition, 40, 1487-1494.
- Zamoscik, V., Schmidt, S. N.L., Bravo, R., Ugartemendia, L., Plieger, T., Rodriguez, A. B., Reuter, M. and Kirsch, P. (2021). Tryptophan-enriched diet or 5-hydroxytryptophan supplementation given in a randomized controlled trial impacts social cognition on a neural and behavioral level. Scientific Reports, 11, 1–11.
2020
- Beddig, T., Timm, C., Ubl-Rachota, B., Zamoscik, V., Ebner-Priemer, U., Reinhard, I., Kirsch, P. and Kuehner, C. (2020). Mindfulness-based focused attention training versus progressive muscle relaxation in remitted depressed patients: Effects on salivary cortisol and associations with subjective improvements in daily life. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 113.
- Reuter, M., Felten, A., Zamoscik, V., Bravo, R., Ugartemendia, L., Kirsch, P., Rodriguez, A. B. and Plieger, T. (2020). Genetic and epigenetic serotonergic markers predict the ability to recognize mental states. Physiology & Behavior, 227.
- Ugartemendia, L., Bravo, R., Castaño, M. Y., Cubero, J., Zamoscik, V., Kirsch, P., Rodriguez, A. B. and Reuter, M. (2020). Influence of diet on mood and social cognition: a pilot study. Food & Function, 11, 8320-8330.
- Weiss, F., Zamoscik, V., Schmidt, S. N.L., Halli, P., Kirsch, P. and Gerchen, M. F. (2020). Just a very expensive breathing training? Risk of respiratory artefacts in functional connectivity-based real-time fMRI neurofeedback. NeuroImage, 210, 1–9.
- Zamoscik, V., Schmidt, S. N.L., Timm, C., Kuehner, C. and Kirsch, P. (2020). Modulation of respiration pattern variability and its relation to anxiety symptoms in remitted recurrent depression. Heliyon, 6, 1–6.